Exemption for public transport passenger vehicles survives tariff wording changes absent proof the vehicle lost its qualifying character.

Exemption under Notification No. 162/86 for public transport type passenger motor vehicles could not be withdrawn merely because the tariff description in Heading 8702 was amended from 1-3-1992. The earlier acceptance of the vehicle as within the exempted class remained relevant, and there was no material showing that the Tempo Trax had ceased to answer that description. A registration requirement as a public transport vehicle could not be read into the notification when it was not expressly stated, and the tariff amendment was treated as editorial and textual in effect. On that basis, duty demand was not justified and the exemption continued to apply.

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Issues: Whether the appellant remained entitled to exemption under Notification No. 162/86 after the tariff description in Heading 8702 was amended with effect from 1-3-1992, and whether duty could be demanded on the footing that the vehicle ceased to qualify as a public transport type passenger motor vehicle.

Analysis: The exemption under Notification No. 162/86 was granted to public transport type passenger motor vehicles, and the authorities had earlier accepted the appellant's vehicle as falling within that category. The mere change in the tariff wording did not, by itself, alter the character of the vehicle or disqualify it from the exemption. The record contained no material to show that the Tempo Trax ceased to be a vehicle of the prescribed type after 1-3-1992. The requirement of registration as public transport was not part of the notification, and such a condition could not be read into the exemption by omitting the word "type". The stated legislative position that the tariff amendment was editorial and textual also supported the appellant's case.

Conclusion: The demand of duty was not justified, and the appellant remained eligible for the exemption. The appeal succeeded and the impugned order was set aside.

Ratio Decidendi: A vehicle entitled to an exemption as a particular type of passenger motor vehicle cannot be denied that benefit merely because the tariff description is amended, unless there is material showing that the vehicle itself has ceased to answer the exempted description.

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